The Buffalo Sabres made a series of moves on NHL Trade Deadline day, including a four-player deal sending center Dylan Cozens and defensemen Dennis Gilbert to the Ottawa Senators, defenseman Henri Jokiharju to the Boston Bruins, and forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel to the NY Rangers, but three former Sabres are also were headed for new destinations.
Casey Mittelstadt was shipped east by Colorado to the Boston Bruins in the Charlies Coyle deal on nearly the one-year anniversary that the Sabres dealt him to the Avalanche. The former Buffalo first-rounder had a solid playoff for Colorado but disappointed in his first full season after signing a three-year contract extension, with just 11 goals in 63 games. The 26-year-old center had an assist in his first game with Boston, a 4-0 win over Tampa Bay on Saturday.
Veteran defenseman Erik Johnson was also on the move for the second time in a year, as the Philadelphia Flyers returned the former #1 overall pick to Colorado in exchange for Givani Smith. The 36-year-old played part-time with the Flyers (1 goal, 2 assists in 22 games) and is expected to be a seventh or eighth defenseman for the Avs, where he played from 2010 to 2023 and won a Stanley Cup.
Another former Sabre, Mark Jankowski, was dealt by Nashville to the Carolina Hurricanes for a 2026 fifth-round pick. Jankowski split time between Rochester and Buffalo during the 2021-22 season, and in his first game, he scored two goals in a 4-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets.
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